The Italian finance police seized Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko’s mega yacht in Trieste, Italy on Friday evening.
The Guardia di Finanza made the announcement in a statement released on Friday evening. Called “SY A,” the yacht was in storage at the Port of Trieste, the statement says.
It’s worth approximately €530 million or $578 million, the statement added. It is one of the largest superyachts in the world, according to the manufacturer Nobiskrug.
Video published by the finance police shows agents boarding the yacht.
Melnichenko was sanctioned by the European Union on March 9 as part of expanded sanctions on Russian oligarchs. According to the EU, he owns the major fertilizer producer EuroChem Group and SUEK, a coal company.
In the EU’s Council decision, which authorized sanctions against Melnichenko, they noted he and 36 other business leaders met with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the invasion into Ukraine to discuss the potential economic impact of EU and American sanctions.
“The fact that he was invited to attend this meeting shows that he is a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin and that he is supporting or implementing actions or policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as stability and security in Ukraine,” the EU Council decision reads.
“It also shows that he is one of the leading businesspersons involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the government of Russia, which is responsible for annexation of Crimea and destabilization of Ukraine.”
The news comes as numerous Russian elites have been scrambling to move and sell assets amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Just days after Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich announced that he would sell the football club, the UK added the 55-year-old to its list of sanctioned individuals as part of its efforts to “isolate” Putin.
On March 3, France’s finance ministry announced the country had seized a yacht owned by Russian oligarch and CEO of Russian oil giant Rosneft Igor Sechin.
The European Union had sanctioned Sechin earlier that week, describing him as one of Putin’s “most trusted and closest advisors, as well as his personal friend.”
CNN’s Kara Scannell, Jessica Schneider, Amy Woodyatt and Niamh Kennedy contributed reporting to this post.
